Church may be sacrificed

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(102312 Boston, MA) St. Augustine Elementary School in South Boston, Tuesday, October 23, 2012. Staff photo by Angela Rowlings.

Proposed 32-unit residential development at former St. Augustine's church site, 225 Dorchester St., South Boston.
Courtesy of Tim Johnson Architect LLC

GOOD FAITH EFFORT: Developers want to tear down St. Augustine’s Church, left, and replace it with a 32-unit condo or rental complex, bottom left, a plan opposed by a South Boston neighborhood group.

GOOD FAITH EFFORT: Developers want to tear down St. Augustine’s Church, left, and replace it with a 32-unit condo or rental complex, bottom left, a plan opposed by a South Boston neighborhood group.

The Herald’s BizSmart section kicks off a series titled “Southie: Old vs. New” that will track a proposed residential development at the former St. Augustine’s parish property — and cover other real estate projects that are reshaping South Boston.

Condo developers plan to demolish the former St. Augustine’s Church, unless Southie residents can prove it’s worth saving and possibly raise cash for a costly restoration.

Bruce Daniel, a Weston resident leading the real estate venture, faced a tough crowd at a Cityside Neighborhood Association meeting Monday night during his initial pitch for a proposed 32-unit residential complex at 225 Dorchester St.

Ed Flynn, son of former Boston Mayor Raymond L. Flynn, called the church — built in 1874 and closed in 2004 — a “cornerstone” of the community where generations were baptized, married and eulogized.

“This church means so much to the neighborhood,” said Flynn, who was involved in previous efforts to keep the Archdiocese of Boston from closing it. “Tearing it down will cause tremendous pain.”

But saving the church will be an uphill battle for South Boston, where a recent surge in condo developments has created tensions in the neighborhood.

The Boston Landmarks Commission already rejected a petition, filed in 2004, to preserve the church, saying the structure’s significance is limited to Boston.

“So to protect it, more information would need to be submitted that the church has significance to the state and New England,” said Ellen Lipsey, the BLC’s executive director. “The bar is set very high for protecting a building as a landmark.”

The church is down the street from the original St. Augustine chapel. Built in 1818, it’s the oldest Catholic church building in the archdiocese and already listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The city could impose a 90-day demolition delay to give the developers and the community time to explore alternatives.

Daniel said that, after consulting structural engineers, he’s ruled out renovating the church and would go for the wrecking ball. But he indicated he’s willing to sell it if a deep-pocketed buyer emerges.

“It will literally take millions of dollars to put it back into structural shape, to make it usable,” Daniel said.

The archdiocese reportedly found it would cost ?$7 million to fix up the church — an estimate calculated nine years ago. The Catholic church opted instead to combine the St. Augustine’s parish with another and sell the property.

Daniel and his project partners — Paul Adamson, owner of the Shenannigans Irish pub on West Broadway, and Mark Cummins of South Boston — bought the property in October, in a $2.4 million deal first reported by the Herald.

The sale included the shuttered St. Augustine’s school at 205 E St., which the developers also plan to tear down and replace with a residential complex with 48 two-bedroom units and underground parking. The complex on the church site includes space for a community arts center.

The developers will need “significant” zoning variances, Daniel said, and approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

He said the three-story building “will look like the typical triple-decker houses that are in the neighborhood.” But residents panned the preliminary design for the church site, with one saying “it looks like a housing project.”

“So you don’t like our design — that’s why we’re here,” Daniel responded. Earlier, he told the group assembled at the Southie Boys and Girls Club: “What we’re really here for is feedback from you folks to see if we’re on the right track. Then we’ll come back to you.”